"Alright… LET'S GO THEN!!" Katsuki bellowed, veins bulging in his neck as both hands shot up, palms already crackling—sparks snapping like live grenades moments from detonation.
He lunged first.
BOOOOM!
The explosion tore through the hallway like a cannon blast. The floor shuddered underfoot, lockers screamed as metal warped inward, and the overhead lights flickered violently—one bursting outright and showering glass down in a glittering rain. Dust and debris rolled outward in a choking wave.
Izuku didn't move.
His eyes locked onto Katsuki, pupils sharp and focused, tracking every twitch of muscle, every micro-adjustment in stance—like a hawk watching a rabbit's heartbeat before the kill.
FWOOOSH!
Katsuki's right arm swung in at point-blank range, a brutal blast meant to erase Izuku's head from existence.
At the very last instant, Izuku tilted his body—barely an inch.
The explosion screamed past his face, scorching the wall behind him instead. Concrete blackened and cracked, fragments spraying outward as heat rippled through the air.
Not a single spark touched him.
'Too slow,' Izuku thought, expression flat—almost bored.
Katsuki snarled, teeth bared, and rushed again. A wild flurry—left, right, spin—each movement punctuated by detonations.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The dim hallway strobed with violent flashes of orange and white, explosions hammering the space over and over. Yet Izuku flowed between them effortlessly, weaving as if he already knew where every blast would land. His boots barely whispered against the floor.
Then—
CRACK!
Izuku's palm shot out and caught Katsuki's wrist mid-swing.
The sound echoed sharp and final.
The grip was iron. Katsuki jerked instinctively, trying to rip his arm free—but it was like pulling against a wall. His eyes widened just a fraction.
"You waste too much energy," Izuku said calmly, voice cold and steady.
He shoved.
Katsuki was sent stumbling back a full three steps, boots scraping hard against the floor before he barely managed to catch himself. His teeth ground together, fury igniting hotter than the explosions.
He came in low this time—fast, desperate—aiming to blow Izuku's legs out from under him.
Izuku hopped.
Light. Effortless.
He twisted in midair, coat fluttering, and landed behind Katsuki once more—exactly where Katsuki didn't want him.
'Predictable,' Izuku thought.
Katsuki spun—
Too late.
Izuku was already inside his guard. A short, compact movement.
THUD!
The punch sank into Katsuki's ribs like a hammer wrapped in steel. The air exploded out of his lungs.
"Ghhk—!"
Katsuki staggered, vision flashing white—but rage dragged him forward anyway. His palms flared wildly, explosions firing without control.
BOOM!
The blast detonated between them, the hallway vanishing in a wall of light and heat. Izuku finally slid back a single step, coat snapping violently as smoke swallowed everything.
Sparks rained down. Concrete sizzled. The stench of scorched metal and burnt stone clawed into his nose.
Through the smoke, Izuku stood straight—unshaken.
'If I wanted to,' he thought, eyes narrowing, presence sharpening like a drawn blade,
'I'd have ended this in the first second.'
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
'But he needs to feel this.'
Then he moved.
No warning. No wasted motion.
In one smooth step, Izuku erased the space between them. The distance vanished like it had never existed. His shoulder turned, hips snapping with perfect timing as his fist shot out—
WHACK!
The right hook detonated across Katsuki's jaw. Bone met knuckle with a sickening crack, Katsuki's head snapping violently to the side as spit and breath sprayed from his mouth. His teeth clacked together hard enough to rattle his skull, vision exploding in a brief flash of white.
Before his brain could even process the hit—
Izuku was already there.
A brutal left jab buried itself into Katsuki's gut.
THUD!
The impact folded him instantly, driving all the air from his lungs in a strangled gasp.
"Khhuu—!"
His knees buckled, legs trembling as his core screamed in protest.
Izuku didn't slow down.
His shin whipped up with cold precision, slicing through the air—
CRACK!
The kick landed clean against Katsuki's thigh, striking the nerve dead-on.
The effect was immediate and merciless.
Katsuki's leg gave out like it had been switched off. White-hot pain ripped through his hip and spine as he collapsed to one knee, his muscles refusing to obey no matter how hard he screamed at them.
"Tch…!" He gritted his teeth and tried to stand, forcing himself upward through sheer rage—
—but his leg betrayed him again.
He hit the floor half-sprawled, palm slapping against the tile as he caught himself, breath coming in harsh, broken pulls.
Izuku walked toward him.
Slow. Unhurried. Absolute control.
Each step echoed through the hallway, boots striking the floor with deliberate weight. Smoke still hung thick in the air, sparks drifting lazily down around them like dying embers.
"All that noise," Izuku said coldly, eyes never leaving him, "and this is all you've got?"
The words cut deeper than any blow.
Katsuki's teeth ground together, rage boiling up from his chest. With a snarl, he swung his arm upward, palm sparking as he aimed straight for Izuku's face—
—but it never reached him.
Izuku caught his wrist effortlessly.
He twisted—just enough.
Katsuki hissed sharply as pain shot up his arm, his shoulder screaming in protest.
"You're predictable, Katsuki," Izuku said quietly, voice calm and merciless.
"Every. Single. Move."
He yanked him forward—
SLAM!
—and drove his knee straight into Katsuki's ribs.
The impact was deep and brutal, a hollow sound that echoed through the hall. Katsuki choked, coughing violently as saliva sprayed from his mouth and splattered onto the floor.
Still desperate, still furious, he tried to blast again—
But Izuku shoved him.
Hard.
Katsuki went sliding across the floor, boots shrieking against the tile as he skidded back helplessly before crashing into the wall with a dull thud.
He sagged there, breathing ragged and uneven. One leg numb. Ribs screaming. Jaw throbbing.
And Izuku—
Hadn't even broken a sweat.
The humiliation burned hotter than the pain ever could.
Katsuki looked up.
Izuku stood there, calm and unshaken, staring down at him like he was nothing more than a nuisance.
That was it.
Something in Katsuki snapped.
His hand shot to the pin on his grenade gauntlet.
"Die!"
CLINK.
The metallic sound of the pin being pulled rang sharp and unmistakable through the hallway.
Izuku's eyes widened—just slightly.
Then instinct took over.
In less than a blink, he grabbed Katsuki's wrist, forcing his palm inward—
Straight against Katsuki's own chest.
BAAAAAAAAAAM!!!
The explosion detonated point-blank.
Fire and smoke swallowed Izuku completely. The blast hurled him backward like a ragdoll, his body tearing through the air before he slammed down hard, boots skidding violently across the floor. He dug his heels in, carving lines into the tile before finally stopping.
Smoke billowed.
Sparks hissed.
When the haze cleared—
Izuku was still standing.
His suit was shredded—half of it burned away entirely. His chest and arm were exposed, skin scorched and smoking, fabric hanging in blackened tatters.
But he stood straight.
Unbroken.
"That all you got?" Izuku said, voice low—dangerous.
Katsuki barely had time to react before—
WHAM!!!
Izuku's fist came down like a piledriver.
The impact cracked the floor beneath Katsuki's boots, stone splitting apart as a web of fractures exploded outward. Katsuki was driven down hard, the sound of concrete breaking thunderous in the confined space.
The entire building shook—
—but no walls collapsed.
The mission condition remained intact.
Katsuki lay there, sprawled and dazed, eyes unfocused, the fight completely beaten out of him.
Izuku exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as the smoke finally began to settle.
' Wonder how Ochaco is doing' he thought.
T0 BE CONTINUED